Sen. Beavers: Muslims infiltrating churches for Bible Belt jihad

At a Macon County town hall meeting Thursday, state Sen. Mae Beavers said that Muslim terrorists are infiltrating churches and planning a jihad in the Bible Belt, reports The Tennessean. Subsequently, she told the newspaper some of her information “was not entirely accurate.”

The Wilson County lawmaker had an exchange with a woman who said that she knew a local Muslim family and they were good people and “wouldn’t hurt anybody,” but there were some who were “adamant” about harmful acts.

In an audio recording of the town hall obtained by The Tennessean, Beavers responds by saying that we were with “intelligence people” this week who told her that Muslim terrorists were moving into the Bible Belt to orchestrate a jihad and “infiltrating churches.”

“I was with some intelligence people this week. You wouldn’t believe what’s going on in this country; it would scare you to death,” Beavers said. “We are the center of their attention because we’re are the center of the Bible Belt. And they’re purposely moving terrorists in here, and they’re bringing their families in, and they’re setting it up for a jihad, I can tell you right now.

“The Muslims, they believe in the Quran and the Quran says that you’re going to kill all the infidels.” There was then a brief exchange between Beavers and the attendees about Muslim residents living locally.

“Something else that they’re doing is they’re doing is infiltrating the churches, they’ll visit the churches and find out what’s going on,” she said at the meeting.

Asked about her comments in an interview, Beavers said the meeting was with “former intelligence officials” before the town hall on Thursday, but they told her in the meeting the information was not accurate.

“They had received some information they said was not entirely accurate,” she said, acknowledging that one meeting was before the town hall.

Beavers said she didn’t recall talking about “a specific jihad,” but said terrorism in Tennessee has been a topic of conversation and concern for her since she was chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee several years ago.

“I know a lot of people that are concerned about the threat of terrorism, and that’s what I was addressing,” she said.

Great. Now we’re worried about Muslims hiding under the bed! Tell me, Senator, in 2016 did more people die at the hands of Jihadists in your district, or as a result of ongoing neglect of roadway maintenance and upgrade? (Specifically Hwy. 109)

Everyone in the room should know what she was saying was bogus because NOBODY associated with the word “intelligence” would be speaking with Senator Beavers. Crap like this comes right out of the Donald Trump playbook and is an outright lie. People like Beavers should be glad that ignorance and lying are not impeachable offenses!

To err is human, to forgive is divine. I prefer my elected officials to err on the side of vigilance like Mae Beavers rather than on the side of political correctness like the entire political establishment and their media cheerleaders.

That’s not “vigilance” it’s fearmongering, plain and simple. But, do you know the meaning of the word “fearmongering”? As for forgiving, evidently it is in the hands of The Divine; here on Earth, in civic rather than religious life, going around terrifying the population with misinformation is literally unforgivable.

What frightens me is that Mae Beavers may actually believe the lies she spews. Who did she hate before Muslims came along to be her convenient bogeyman? Instead of spreading race and religious hate, why doesn’t she focus on things that actually matter to voters like education and health care and equal opportunity for all Americans?

Elected officials like Beavers need a public shaming now and then. Maybe thoughtful, deliberative folks in her district can find a way to publicly ask her at what point SHE thinks her infatuation for drama and titillating sensationalism and the advantage she sees in pandering to the basest instincts among her constituents might begin to make her suspect she’s seriously tarnishing her credibility. Nothing in the public interest should be entrusted to one so easily persuaded by knee-jerk, snake-brain stupidity, and she needs to be publicly told so with just such language.

The problem with these online replies is that it always ends up in a fight between two opposing viewpoints and then devolves into name calling. It is counterproductive and a distraction.
I live in a small town and have fears of terrorism even though there is not a single person around here that doesn’t look like they came over on the Mayflower. I think it is universal to fear the unknown anyone or anything, especially with the realities of terrorism in the world. People should not be “afraid to fear” if that’s what they are feeling. The people that are fearless and all embracing could help the “other side of the coin” with constructive suggestions. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.